Sister Liz may be the final guest blogger of the month. As of this writing I am packing up the Hamptons house, loading up the Range Rover, and heading back to Boston after a quick stop on the cape this weekend. It's been a great break, but time to get back to work!
Recently, I took on the task of cleaning out my attic. I happened upon a box containing, to my delighted surprise, old swimming trophies. If you were an age group swimmer, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I own about 10 of them. My most prized one mildly states, “Most Improved Swimmer 1976,” which I achieved when I made the tremendous leap from Novice to Intermediate in a single summer.
The other 9, however, are a bit suspect. They are the evil spawn of the “B” meet. The “A” meets included swimmers of all ability levels, including the top competitors. The “B” meets, on the other hand, were sort of like the Junior Varsity of age group swimming. If you were a mediocre swimmer, competing in a “B” meet made you feel a little like Mark Spitz cleaning up at the 1972 Olympics. I recall strutting around with medals around my neck and a trophy in each hand, feeling like hot poop. I’m still embarrassed about that, 30 years later. At the time, however, the adrenaline coursed through me and I felt drunk on power. I’m sure that the very next swim meet gave me a good dose of reality and my top dog status quickly evaporated.
I debate whether to keep the trophies. In the end, I simply leave the box in the attic. It’s too much of a bother to carry them down the stairs and out to the trash.
Today's workout:
150-400 swim on own
3 x (4x50) going free, breast, back, fly
3 x 100 kick
6 x 500 going:
500 swim pace on 7:30
2 x 250 pull on :30r
500 swim on 7:05
4 x 125 going 75 stroke, 50 free on 2:10
500 fastest swim of the day (beat 6:31, which we all did thanks to Joe)
6 x 75 going 2 on 1:10, 2 on 1:05, 2 on :60
50 easy
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